Some congressional Democrats who previously criticized Joe Kent, the former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, for his extremist history are now elevating his conspiratorial resignation statement in which he blamed Israel for bringing the U.S. into the war with Iran, as well as a series of other Middle East conflicts.

Meanwhile, Republicans who supported Kent during his nomination process are now criticizing the former administration official.

Kent said in his resignation letter that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said during Kent’s confirmation process that Kent had a “consistent pattern of questionable judgment and false statements” and willful ignorance to evidence that conflicted with his preexisting political biases and that he had “aligned himself with political violence, promoted falsehoods that undermine our democracy and tried to twist intelligence to serve a political agenda.”

On Tuesday, however, Warner echoed Kent’s comments that Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S.

“On this point, he is right: there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify rushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East,” Warner said. “Ignoring the facts to pursue a predetermined war puts American lives at risk and undermines our national security. The United States cannot be led into conflict on the basis of politics, impulse, or a president’s desire for confrontation. We have seen where this road leads before.”

At the same time, Warner also maintained that Kent’s record is “deeply troubling” and that he should not have been confirmed.

Every Senate Democrat opposed Kent’s confirmation last year.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) went further, explicitly endorsing Kent’s view that the war began as a result of pressure from Israel and pro-Israel advocacy groups.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), from Kent’s home state where he previously ran for Congress, called Kent a “radical, unqualified conspiracy theorist” during his confirmation proceedings, and said that “just about everything we know about Joe Kent is disqualifying for this role and alarming.”

On Tuesday, Murray said, “A top national security official resigns and confirms that Iran posed no imminent threat. Good riddance to Joe Kent, a disgraceful white supremacist, but that’s a major public admission that there was NO justification for this war.”

Two Jewish Democrats who spoke to Jewish Insider agreed with Kent that there was no imminent threat to the United States from Iran that would have allowed the administration to take unilateral action were accurate, but dismissed his contention that Israel, rather than President Donald Trump himself, bears the blame for the war.

“[Kent] should know, and he does know, that there was no imminent threat by any definition of imminent. It’s a war of choice, and I expect there’ll be other resignations,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told JI.

But, he continued, “I don’t buy the narrative that Israel tricked or persuaded America to go to war. I think Trump acted on a whim. It’s a war of impulse, even more than a war of choice.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) told JI, “Donald Trump and his Cabinet entered into this war, and they call it a war. … Men and women have died. Some are injured. They entered this without doing their full research, without coming to Congress, and they still have shown us no reason, no reason at all for going there.”

But Rosen emphasized that the blame for the war lies with Trump, not Israel, as Kent suggested. “This is Trump’s war. It’s 100% on him. He did not come as he was supposed to. If he’s going to enter into a war, Congress, only Congress can declare war. There has been no proof of imminent threat to the United States, and they still refuse to come and talk to us. … They certainly have not shown us any justification, at least as far as I’m concerned.”

Some other Democrats have taken a harder line toward Kent.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called Kent’s effort to blame Israel for the war “as predictable as it is unserious,” as well as antisemitic.

“Scapegoating Israel isn’t just a tired antisemitic trope — it’s anti-American,” Gottheimer said. “This is a guy with ties to white supremacists and has ‘PANZER’ tattooed on his arm, referring to a Nazi tank infamously used in crimes against Jews. Kent’s reduction of Iran to ‘Israel’s fault’ isn’t leadership, it’s bigoted deflection.”

Amos Hochstein, a top official in the Biden administration, said on X, “Whether you support the war or oppose it, Joe Kent is a well known neo nazi racist. No one should be taking anything he says seriously — even if you happen to agree with some elements.”

Democratic Majority for Israel said in a statement that Kent’s letter was “deeply antisemitic” and reflects that he “traffics in conspiracy theories and was unfit for any government position.” The group said it shows that he was “unfit for any government position.”

Jeremy Ben-Ami, the president of J Street, which has vigorously opposed the war, said that only Trump is responsible for it.

“Don’t try pinning the blame solely on Israel and a powerful lobby. That only echoes the worst of antisemitic tropes — of course, far too common on the hard-right of the political map,” Ben Ami continued.

Republicans, meanwhile, mostly condemned Kent on Tuesday, after backing his confirmation last year.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), who sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, told JI that the information he has seen affirmed that the administration made the right decision in attacking Iran.

“[Trump] had the opportunity to address a growing threat and it was growing at a significant pace. The Iranians were not only increasing their offensive capabilities, but they were rebuilding their defensive capabilities. He saw that. We’ve seen that in the intel reports,” Rounds said.

“If Mr. Kent had a problem with the issue of ‘imminent,’ I think I would disagree. I think it was an imminent threat, and I’d rather take them out when we have fewer of our young men and women at risk,” Rounds continued

“Joe Kent and his family have sacrificed greatly for our nation, and I thank him for his service,” said Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, which oversaw Kent’s confirmation process. “But I disagree with his misguided assessment. Iran’s vast missile arsenal and support for terrorism posed a grave and growing threat to America. … President Trump recognized this threat and made the right call to eliminate it.”

Every Senate Republican — except for Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) — supported Kent’s confirmation.

“The resignation of Joe Kent as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center could not have come at a better time,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), said, accusing Kent of “echoing the Democratic talking points, which are devoid of fact or evidence.”

Taking one of the hardest lines toward Kent, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) accused him of antisemitism.

“The virulent anti-Semitism of his resignation letter makes it clear that Mr. Kent is incapable of upholding these pledges, and those who mistake its baseless and incendiary conspiracies for brave truth-telling are only fooling themselves,” McConnell said. “Isolationists and anti-Semites have no place in either party, and certainly do not deserve places of trust in our government.”

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Senate Republican to immediately come to Kent’s defense.

“Voices like his that cautioned against being overly involved in the wars in the Middle East were good voices to have,” Paul said. “I think he was America First from the very beginning, and still is.”

A handful of House Republicans also trashed Kent.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that Kent’s assessment of the threat posed by Iran was incorrect based on the briefings he received, and that it’s “clearly wrong” that the U.S. was putting Israel’s interests over its own.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said that Kent “was never fit for the job.”

“He was a leaker who spent more time undermining our foreign policy than doing his job. Now he’s out the door and blaming Jews on his way out,” Lawler said. “Good riddance.”

Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) called Kent, “Example 1A of why failed congressional candidates should not be elevated to senior roles within administrations. When the going gets tough the first instinct is to call it quits. Let me be clear…the U.S. is not the bad guy here!”

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) also said “good riddance” to Kent, adding, “Anti-Semitism is an evil I detest, and we surely don’t want it in our government.”